Home » News » New national numeracy programme

New national numeracy programme

Maths , GCSE , Functional Skills , Accreditation
New national numeracy programme

Launching in the Spring, the £560m Multiply programme will give people who don’t have at least a GCSE grade C/4 or equivalent in maths access to free, flexible courses to improve their maths.

The new programme was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the October 2021 Spending Review. It’s currently estimated that more than 8 million adults in England have numeracy skills lower than those expected of a 9-year-old, and that by the age of 30, people with poor numeracy skills are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as their peers. Good numeracy skills are estimated to contribute over £200bn in value to the UK economy.

Key points

  • All local areas in the United Kingdom will receive funding to deliver bespoke adult numeracy programmes in their area from April next year.
  • Adults who don’t already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in Maths will be able to access free courses that fit around their lives.
  • Employers who could benefit from boosting their workforce’s skills will be able to work with their Local Authority and training providers to deliver maths GCSEs or functional skills qualifications and to design and deliver bespoke programmes for their workforce, with no cost to them.
  • A new digital platform, to be launched next year, will give access to numeracy training on demand. Anyone over 19 and working towards a maths GCSE or functional skills qualification, or just wanting to brush up on their skills, will be able to access the platform, which will provide free online tutorials and courses.

Further Information

Sign up for our e-News Update
Subscribe

You may also like

Downloadable functional skills resources

Downloadable functional skills resources

The Functional Skills Resources subscription website has hit a landmark figure of 300 unique resources available for you to download and use with your learners.

Tenders update

Tenders Update November 2023

Take a look at Tenders Update November 2023 for an overview of the latest opportunities open to providers of services to the Essential Skills sector.